I read The Hobbit in 1966, followed by the Lord of the Rings in 1968. I read The Silmarillion in 1977, then Unfinished Tales and The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. I have re-read all multiple times, and more recently I have been ensorcelled by The History of Middle-earth.

Favorite Tolkien character:

It's impossible for me to pick any one character that is a favorite, but I'd say that Aulë's best students gone bad — Fëanor and Mairon a.k.a. Sauron — are by far the most compelling. You know. The mad scientist types.